Few things in this world are more beautiful than watching the leaves turn in Maine. And Edward M. Buxbaum could not be happier that he won’t see it.

Buxbaum, a partner at the Baltimore law firm Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP, was supposed to visit his son Steven at Colby College in Maine Oct. 5. Instead, father and son are making plans for a possible Baltimore Orioles playoff game in Baltimore that day.

“I’ve sort of reserved the fifth on my calendar,” Buxbaum said. “Even without tickets, I’ll find a way to get there.”

Call it a mental health day, client development or whatever you want — for the first time in 15 years men and women are canceling their appointments and clearing their schedules to see playoff baseball in Baltimore. That means extensive preparations for the business community to get ready for a Baltimore Orioles postseason run. The weeks leading up to that magic Oct. 5 date seem to be all about white-collar workers trading in their button-downs for orange T-shirts, impromptu office pep rallies and parties, and lots of eyes glued to games and computer screens.

The Orioles are 88-67 as of Sept. 25 and hold a half-game lead in the American League wild card standings. If that lead stands up, the Orioles would host a one-game playoff at Oriole Park at Camden Yards Oct. 5.

The Orioles’ winning ways have been quite a change for many Baltimore businesses. This is the time of year when the Camden Pub starts cutting part-time employees by 25 percent, said Pat Liberto, owner of the restaurant on Pratt Street. Now Liberto has added about three additional people to his staff of 10 in order to handle the rush of the pennant race.

If the team qualifies for the postseason, the number of customers at the bar could rival opening day, Liberto said.

“It is Christmas and New Year’s wrapped into one,” he said.

The Orioles have already sold out tickets for a possible wild card matchup and for the division series, said Greg Bader, a spokesman for the Orioles. Tickets for a possible wild card game are reselling for $201.13, an 87 percent increase over the average resale ticket price for regular season games.

Paul A. Tiburzi, managing partner at the Baltimore office of DLA Piper, said he is getting emails every day from clients looking to attend an Orioles postseason game in DLA Piper’s corporate suite.

Clients liked visiting Camden Yards before, but never so much as now, Tiburzi said.

“People have always been interested in the Orioles,” he said. “This year we’ve turned it up a few notches in excitement because of the quality baseball.”

Whiteford, Taylor & Preston had trouble filling its corporate suite at Oriole Park over the past couple of years, Buxbaum said.

Clients would turn down tickets or cancel at the last minute. But the law firm’s box has been packed since August, Buxbaum said, when the Orioles officially entered the pennant race.

When the Orioles took on the Tampa Bay Rays for a crucial three-game series starting Sept. 11, “the box was completely filled” with 14 to 16 people, Buxbaum said.

That is almost three times more than the number who used to sit in the law firm’s box during midweek games. It was so jam-packed, Buxbaum said, that the firm had to reorder food for the box twice during the game.

While tickets will likely be harder to come by during the postseason, Buxbaum knows he will be at the park no matter what.

“I got tickets for game one of the [American League Division Series],” he said. “If we host a wild card, I’ll go on Stubhub or something and pay a ridiculous sum to watch that too.”

Is the price worth it?

“Wandering in the desert for 15 years, you don’t know when an opportunity like this comes along,” Buxbaum insists.

Matt Piazza, a vice president of finance at Atlantic Federal Credit Union, has worked extra hours to make sure he’ll be able to take off on Oct. 5.

He set an alarm when tickets went on sale to make sure didn’t miss out on wild card and division series tickets.

“Right after Labor Day I thought to myself, ‘When have I been this cognizant of what’s going on in September for the Orioles?’ ” Piazza said.

Jack Lambert is responsible for driving breaking news coverage on the BBJ's website, baltimorebusinessjournal.com. His specialty coverage areas are sports business and transportation. However, Jack goes where the news is on a daily basis.

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